The Absence of Low Roller Fairleads in Titanic’s Forward Well Deck By Bob Read, D.M.D. Introduction Recently several members of the Titanic community have published their contentions that there are low roller fairleads in Titanic’s forward well deck aft of the electric cargo winches. The primary publication made the case for this arrangement on Olympic then made the claim that “Based on the evidence presented however, one can comfortably assume that Titanic did have these rollers as well.” The purpose of this article is to present evidence to challenge that claim and to prove that there were in fact no low roller fairleads in Titanic’s forward well deck. The names of those who hold the position that Titanic had low roller fairleads in her forward well deck will not be mentioned in this article. Neither will a case be made for or against the presence of low roller fairleads in the forward well deck of Olympic at any time in her career. Analysis Early plans of Olympic have been presented which show the presence of low roller fairleads in the forward well deck of Olympic, located aft of the electric cargo winches. Figure 1 shows a pair of representative low roller fairleads prior to installation aboard another ship. Figure 1 Low roller fairleads
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The Absence of Low Roller Fairleads in Titanic’s Forward Well Deck
By Bob Read, D.M.D.
Introduction
Recently several members of the Titanic community have published their contentions that
there are low roller fairleads in Titanic’s forward well deck aft of the electric cargo winches.
The primary publication made the case for this arrangement on Olympic then made the claim
that “Based on the evidence presented however, one can comfortably assume
that Titanic did have these rollers as well.” The purpose of this article is to present evidence to
challenge that claim and to prove that there were in fact no low roller fairleads in Titanic’s
forward well deck. The names of those who hold the position that Titanic had low roller
fairleads in her forward well deck will not be mentioned in this article. Neither will a case be
made for or against the presence of low roller fairleads in the forward well deck of Olympic at
any time in her career.
Analysis
Early plans of Olympic have been presented which show the presence of low roller fairleads in
the forward well deck of Olympic, located aft of the electric cargo winches. Figure 1 shows a
pair of representative low roller fairleads prior to installation aboard another ship.
Figure 1
Low roller fairleads
It is not the purpose of this article to determine whether these plans accurately portray the
presence of low roller fairleads aboard Olympic at the time she went into service in June 1911.
The contention from previously mentioned members of the Titanic community is that she did
and that by extension they would have been included as equipment aboard Titanic. Before
September 1, 1985 that may have been a reasonable position. However, after the discovery of
the wreck of Titanic there have been numerous expeditions which have taken hours of film
footage and thousands of photos of the wreck. It is my contention that rather than rely on
what could have been installed aboard Titanic that it is more reasonable to look at the area
involved and see whether the photo evidence supports the presence of this equipment or if it
actually supports the absence of this equipment. In the following section, the evidence from
the wreck will be examined.
The Evidence
Figure 2 shows the location (in red) of the low rollers as indicated on the Olympic plan.
Figure 2
Location of low rollers on Olympic plan
On the Titanic wreck the crane jibs have been displaced from their original stowed positions on
crutches. Figure 3 shows an overhead view of the area of the jib crutches and where one would
expect to see the low roller fairleads if they were present.
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Figure 3
Overhead view showing area of crane jibs and jib crutches
Figures 4 and 5 are composite images which show the area where one would expect to see the
low roller fairleads on the wreck on both the starboard and port sides. So that the images are
as large as possible, the composite images will be displayed each to its own page.
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Figure 4
Starboard side showing location where low roller would be expected
Figure 5
Port side showing location where low roller would be expected
These preceding photos demonstrate the absence of low roller fairleads in Titanic’s forward
well deck where the Olympic plan indicated.
Objections
There are two proposed objections which have been put forward to explain why we do not see
any low roller fairleads in Titanic’s forward well deck.
1. The force of the ship hitting the bottom dislodged both of the fairleads.
A. These fairleads were riveted through the steel deck. If there were a force capable of
completely dislodging them, we would see much greater damage in this area. We
see bollards and fairleads in the well deck which are completely intact and in place.
This objection is not plausible.
2. The buildup of silt and debris has buried the fairleads.
A. To cover the low roller fairleads would require an accumulation of silt approximately
at least 18 inches deep. There isn’t anywhere near this accumulation in the area of
the proposed fairleads. In examining other structures in the area, we can easily see
that there is not a silt buildup this deep in this area. If there were then one would
have to explain why we don’t see such a buildup in areas near this area. This
objection is not plausible.
Conclusion
By using Titanic wreck photos, it has been proven that there are no low roller fairleads in
Titanic’s forward well deck. This article has not been written to score points or to further some
internecine conflict within the Titanic community. My endeavor has solely been to find